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December 22, 2024
 

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Mara Budgen
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Aug 11, 2024
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
For over half a century, Japan has been a sizable buyer of LNG, and its government, banks and energy companies have played a key role in continued investment.
Containers transporting coal at a dock in Cam Pha, Vietnam. Enthusiasm for Vietnam’s renewables boom is dampened by factors such as its underdeveloped electricity grid and patchy regulatory framework, while the country’s major source of electricity remains coal.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Mar 25, 2024
With Japan’s help, is Vietnam headed for a flawed energy transition?
The climate-vulnerable nation is looking to renewables, but also questionable solutions promoted by Tokyo, for its energy needs.
Yasuhiro Otomo and Miku Narisawa during one of Odyssey Nature Japan's educational fishing programs.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 22, 2024
A young 3/11 survivor and her vow to protect the ocean
At 12, Miku Narisawa experienced a magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed her home. Now she is working to protect it.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 29, 2023
20 Questions: The best answers of 2023
Our interviewees this year gave a lot of advice for living a good life and paying attention to the things that matter most.
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 7, 2023
Feeling anxious? Wastewater, heat and Japan’s year in climate
In a year that saw Japan release 24,000 tons of wastewater (so far) from Fukushima No. 1 as the planet smashed heat records, it’s no wonder climate anxiety is on the rise. Mara Budgen joins us to break down the year in environment news, where we could see hope, and what we should be worried about....
"The Ones Left Behind" documents the successes and struggles of single mothers in Japan.
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 2, 2023
Why single mothers in Japan have been left behind
Filmmaker Rionne McAvoy joins us to discuss the hidden poverty present in one of the world’s richest nations.
A surgical center designed by Shigeru Ban Architects for a hospital in Lviv, Ukraine
JAPAN / Society
Sep 24, 2023
Shigeru Ban’s humanitarian architecture reaches Ukraine
Architect Shigeru Ban is working with the mayor of Lviv, in Ukraine, to expand a hospital and serve the growing number of people displaced by the war.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 12, 2023
Japan is about to release 1.3 million tons of Fukushima wastewater. Should we be concerned?
Environmental journalist Mara Budgen joins the podcast to discuss Japan’s plan to discharge millions of tons of wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 power plant into the ocean.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 7, 2023
Bar none: Tokyo's liquor shops are where locals start their weekends
Kaku’uchi — liquor stores doubling as bars — are trending again in Tokyo. Mara Budgen provides a guide to some of the capital’s best joints, for all tastes.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 30, 2023
Japan's ume heartland sows new prospects
If you’ve ever eaten ume, chances are it came from Minabe or Tanabe in Wakayama Prefecture.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Apr 26, 2023
[Rebroadcast] Is it too late to save the Japanese giant salamander?
Check out this podcast from December in which we speak with environment journalist Mara Budgen about the trouble facing the Japanese giant salamander.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 1, 2023
Ainu culture at the heart of Hokkaido’s mindful tourism pivot
As Hokkaido looks to promote responsible, community-based tourism centered on Ainu culture and traditions, questions remain as to who stands to gain.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 26, 2023
Haruo Nishio: ‘Thatched roofs tell a story of eternity’
The ancient craft of thatching is resisting the pressures of modernity thanks to artisans like Haruo Nishio, who connects to Japan’s historic roots by preserving its original houses.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 23, 2023
Why Japan's favorite fermented paste may hold the key to a low-carbon diet
The ancient art of fermentation, an essential part of Japanese cuisine, is helping reduce the environmental impact of the food we eat today, and will eat in the future.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / Longform
Jan 16, 2023
The race to save the Japanese giant salamander
River infrastructure is causing the salamander's decline. To stop Japan from losing this rare species, conservationists are calling for an alternative vision of rural development.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 12, 2023
Junji Takasago: ‘Photographers are a bridge between humans and nature’
In capturing nature's raw and mysterious beauty, Junji Takasago seeks not only to inspire awe but highlight its fragility.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 16, 2022
Is it too late to save the Japanese giant salamander?
Environmental journalist Mara Budgen comes on the show to talk about the Japanese giant salamander, which is well-protected within Japan through various laws but is still at risk of becoming an endangered species.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / Longform
Oct 24, 2022
Battle to stop Kagoshima seawall highlights divide over coastal engineering
Seawalls are a fixture of Japanese coasts, but one beach on the island of Amami Oshima is fighting against the tide.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Oct 22, 2022
Psychological first aid helping ‘Ukrainians have a future’ in Japan
In the face of an ongoing war, evacuees find self-care tools are helping them manage the effects of trauma.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Longform
Aug 15, 2022
The race to power a low-carbon future with next-generation EV batteries
The stakes are high for those competing to create the batteries needed to power the electric vehicles of the future, but even higher for a world in the throes of climate change.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

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